Roll Gardening & Green
Fall Color in Your Landscape
by Luanne Panarotti
Ironically, in this “information age” we often find ourselves no better informed about our presidential candidates than before, with the media focusing on the superficial rather than the profound. Boxers or briefs? Bowling or basketball? We try to tease fact from fiction, but many seem more concerned with the brand of eyeglasses or shade of lipstick worn by vice presidential hopefuls.
But one unassuming man in southern Maine is asking a question of substance: will the next president be a vegetable gardener? Roger Doiron, founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, has launched a campaign: to petition people in high places—including the White House—to set better examples by planting edible gardens.
A kitchen garden on the White House grounds is not unprecedented. Early presidents fed their families from on-site plots. Jefferson diversified the offerings with fruit trees. Eleanor Roosevelt, proudly planted a Victory Garden to inspire Americans to do the same as part of their patriotic duty.
And, at a time when many measure patriotism by one’s support of military conflict or treatment of a cloth standard, what could be more truly patriotic? Ours is a society that can measure the impact of its eating in “food miles” (the distance food travels from “field to fork,” an astonishing 1500 miles on average). An estimated one-third of greenhouse gas emissions are linked to how we grow and eat food. Kitchen gardening is a small step toward self-sufficiency and environmental responsibility, not to mention healthier living, but who knew a veggie garden could reduce our dependence on foreign oil?
With November approaching, perform your civic duty: begin or enhance your kitchen garden. Many aspects of preparation can be done now—even some planting.
Be Prepared
If you haven’t already, start composting! Purchase a compost bin, build your own from posts and chicken wire or old wooden pallets, or just start a heap. Begin with the right mix of materials: a good rule of thumb is a 3-to-1 ratio of green matter (grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, spent stalks and vines) to brown matter (fallen leaves, straw). Include some soil, which carries with it microbes needed to activate the pile. Periodically turn the heap to aerate, and add water, if dry. In a matter of months you’ll have rich, dark humus that can be used to enrich your garden.
Set up raised beds—contained plots of soil, edged with stone, brick, wooden or plastic frames—and enjoy their many benefits next growing season. Quicker to warm in spring and easier on gardener’s backs, raised beds enable easier manipulation of soil composition to accommodate different crops. Their design allows you to plant closer together, and you avoid the soil compaction that comes from walking through the standard garden. Raised beds should be at least 6-12” deep and no more than 4 feet wide, so that plants can be easily reached for maintenance and harvesting.
If you’ve started a garden, take time now to mulch. A thick layer of leaves, straw or purchased enriching mulch will insulate root systems of over-wintering plants, discourage weeds, and reduce moisture loss and soil erosion. Or, consider planting a cover crop, such as winter rye (Secale cereale) that can be turned into the soil in spring as “green manure.”
Grow Your Own
Pest and disease-resistant, garlic may be planted from now through early November. Choose a location in full sun with rich, well-drained soil, and use “seed garlic” specifically intended for planting. Plant cloves in their papery husks, tip up, approximately 2” deep and 6” apart. Mulch heavily, and you’ll be well on your way to a savory summer crop.
You can also sow spinach now, to be over-wintered under row fabric. The seeds will germinate, with plants remaining tiny through winter; spring warmth will stimulate growth once again, for an early taste of homegrown greens.
It’s also an excellent time to plant fruit trees and shrubs. No longer producing leaves or fruit, the plants can put their energy into root growth, allowing them to better establish themselves before winter.
Support Your Local Farmer!
Don’t have time for your own kitchen garden? Happily, there are others in our community raising produce for you. Visit the many farmers’ markets that have cropped up, offering fresh, often organic produce, farmstead cheeses, fresh-baked breads and more. Invest directly in some local agriculture by joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. Members make a financial commitment up front to the grower in exchange for their share of the harvest.
Blue state or red —we can all benefit from eating green!
Classes: Garlic workshop with Briana Davis, 10/11, 10 am
The Phantom Gardener, Rhinebeck, NY 845-876-8606
One Drop at a Time: How to Go Greener in the Garden
11/8, 10 am, Berkshire Botanical Garden, 413-298-3926
www.localharvest.org to locate a farmers’ market or CSA near you
www.kitchengardeners.org —lots of gardening inspiration and helpful videos
www.eattheview.org —add your name to the White House petition
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